In the Dark - Rise of the Guardians
by Nudge1234
Summary: Pitch Black has returned due to the aid of Darkness. There's one thing on his mind and it's revenge, and he's got a new plan to do it, one that's better, bigger and much more dramatic. With the aid of a teenage girl, murderer and a blood thirsty unicorn, the Guardians better watch out. Because the Darkness is coming. AN/ Okay, this is a cross between the movie and the Guardians
1. In the Dark

She found him in the dark, curled up on the ground in the foetal position. Around him were the hoof prints of horses, trampled into the soft dirt that he lay in. All the stairs and cages that had cluttered his lair had disappeared, leaving them in an empty cavern. She stood over him, prodding his motionless form with a pale toe. _Unimpressive, _she thought, but with a sigh she grabbed his arms and began to drag him along the ground, back the way she had come.

Once she had reached the entrance to the tunnel she had cleared, she pulled him up past her hips and clung on as the night reached down, tendrils of darkness scooping them up and tugging them into the clearing in the middle of the woods.

The tendrils shrank away as she dragged him from the large opening in the earth onto cool grass, where he lay dishevelled. The area around the hole she had carved was dusty and brown, and had never grown any grass since he had last disappeared through it, sucked from the world by his own nightmares.

He gave a soft moan, and she knelt down beside him, a small smile playing along her lips. "Hello, Pitch. Long time no see."

He gave a whimper, and she help him to sit up, watching as his slightly golden eyes flickered open to meet her black ones. He drew in a breath of air and retched a few times before speaking. "Why did you rescue me?"

She ignored him. "What did it feel like, being trashed by your own horses? Those Guardians gave you quite the beating; it would be funny if your expression wasn't so tragic."

"I need fear," he said softly, giving a slight whimper of pain. "I've spent so long without it."

"You've spent eight months down there," she said coldly. "But then again, you never were as used to the Dark as I am."

"Why did you rescue me? To see me fade from the lack of belief these children have in fear? I need it!" He managed to get his voice above a whisper, but the energy it took had him leaning back over.

She smiled darkly. "Of course."

With a wave of her hand, the tendrils of deep black darkness that had been flickering at the edge of the clearing dispersed to the west, and she lifted Pitch back up and half carried him to the edge of the forest, so he could se the town that lay beyond.

She tugged at the dark of the night around her, and immediately all the glowing orange light that lit up the town disappeared, leaving them all in complete darkness, which not even the half moon above their heads could penetrate.

Pitch stood erect at the sudden fear that had enveloped the town, and he took in a large breath, letting it out with a twisted smile. "Perfect."

"Did that revive you?" She gave him a dark smile of her own back, her long black hair falling around her face, reaching just above her knees.

"Oh, yes. Yes it did." He looked out over the town, watching a few candle flames flicker through the nearest window as the occupants tried to see, she could see the lights dancing in his eyes. He turned to her. "I thought you hated me."

"I hate your name, but I've got nothing against you as a person." She walked forward and lay a hand on his arm. "You don't deserve the name, I do. But you're stuck with it, so I might as well get used to it."

"I'm going to wreck havoc." He looked deep into her eyes. "That's why you brought me back, isn't it?"

"That's one reason."

"The others?"

"I'm interested," she told him, moving forwards to touch the gnarled bark of a tree beside her. The shadows leapt from the tree and to her finger tips, where she swirled them around before flicking them away into the night.

"In?"

"An alliance," she spoke softly, and she felt him back away behind her. "Fear and Darkness. Combined, they create dread- it's even an anagram _Dread... _uh,_ an kar funess."_

"You didn't have a sense of humour when I last saw you."

She shrugged. "Things changed. But never mind that, are you interested?"

"That depends on what being allies would entail."

"Whatever you want," she told him truthfully, but she could feel a small smile returning to her lips.

He lunged forwards and a black stream of sand pushed into her and pinned her to the ground, Pitch on top of her, his hands on her shoulders, holding her down, despite the fact the sand already had her pinned. "What's the catch, you don't do this sort of thing for free!"

She flicked a wrist and the sand dissipated. She rolled away before Pitch could fall on her, and she crouched on the ground, black shadows curling and writhing around her, anticipating a fight. "There isn't one. I'm interested in my power, and how much of it I possess. Fear and Darkness have been allied in the past, before you tried your little stunt with the Sandman's dreams. Very clever by the way. But this time, I can offer you what ever you want, simply for us to join forces."

Pitch considered her for a second before helping her up. "Deal. But it's December, so there's one thing I want."

"You want to stop Christmas." She grinned and nodded her head. "Fair enough."

"They will come to fear Pitch Black yet again."

She scowled at him. "I wish you weren't called that name. It has nothing to do with you; you hide under beds and scare people, I take away the light and see what happens."

"What, would you prefer I was called, Boogie?"

"Yes, surprisingly. Anything but Black."

"Because that's your specialty, isn't it?"

"Of course, I'm Darkness, it's my name, it's my mind; it's my centre."


	2. Chapter 1- The Plan, as it is

"I'm surprised that you managed to keep hold of the Sandman's nightmare magic, I would have thought that you would have lost it down there..." Darkness walked through the middle of the road, ignoring the oncoming traffic. Pitch was behind her, skulking slightly, as if still knocked down from his defeat by the Guardians.

"It's a useful trick, and it is so very effective," he gave a small smile, and his eyes flickered gold for a brief moment. "Sandy doesn't have the ability to take away what I've learnt, simply-"

"Beat you to a pulp? I was actually very surprised that they won, you were so powerful at the time."

He frowned and cocked his head slightly. "How would you know?"

"It wasn't just the Sandman's magic you used," she replied, trying not to sound too envious. "You infected the dreams with darkness and fear, every time you used one I felt it. You stole my magic for those nightmares."

Pitch paused. "Sorry, I understand."

"No you don't but your apology is accepted. Anyway, have you thought about _how _you're going to destroy Christmas?" She changed the subject. "I hope you're planning something dramatic."

"How did you know?" Pitch smiled at her, then hesitated, as if what he was about to say was offensive. "But we're going to have help."

"What? Who? Why?" Dark's strange calm faltered as she stared at Pitch, looking confused.

Pitch seemed to rise above his skulking, and he strode in front of her, stepping out of the way as a lorry drove past, only to stop with a beep of it's horn behind them, the driver probably wondering what had happened to the street lights. Dark could see the way Pitch's robes leaked the black sand in small shadowy strands, that twisted away through the fierce gloom.

With out looking at her, Pitch began to speak, his voice wry. "I made a mistake last time. Five Guardians, all focused on me; they were bound to manage some sort of advantage at some point, but I didn't realise this. I should have had a distraction. It was how I killed the Sandman; how I crushed Easter. But at the end I figured I was too powerful, they couldn't get to me.

"I need other people, I need distractions. Secrets are best played out in the dark, and now that I have you..."

"I'm not sure I like being considered a distraction," Dark interrupted, frowning.

He smiled at her. "You will, trust me."

"I don't."

"Dark, this will be great! All the darkness you can imagine, all that if we just join forces..." His eyes flashed tauntingly gold again.

"I'm pretty sure I was the one offering to join forces earlier..." She raised an eyebrow at him, but he had already turned his back.

"So, the plan, as it is, is that I'm going to have five," Pitch continued. "Five distractions for five guardians. We'll play on fears, each one of us get's a Guardian who's afraid of something they have."

"Who have I got?" Dark asked, feeling like a child on Christmas, though there was a small chance of Christmas this year, judging by the devious smile that was playing on Pitch Black's lips.

"All in good time. But for now, I need as much strength as I can get." He looked over at her and she knew where it was heading. "Let's spread the fear..."

**Meanwhile** **In the North Pole**

"I love being a Guardian..." Jack Frost grinned as he flew from floor to floor, looking in awe around Santa's workshop. He examined the toys the yetis were working on, his smile growing with each amazing new toy he discovered. "I've been trying to bust in here for _years_. If only I knew that all you had to do was join the Guardians and beat up the occasional bad guy."

North laughed. "I'm not sure the Man in Moon picked you for that reason, Jack. Come, look at the Globe, see all the Christmas cheer!"

North jumped onto a small lift which rose, taking him up to the top level of his workshop. Jack flew up on a cold wind beside him, ducking to avoid the occasional glowing frisbee that zoomed around the place, sending out multi-coloured streams of light.

The globe was surrounded by wreaths of holly that wrapped around it, decorated with baubles and a couple of elves that had gotten themselves stuck. Jack grinned. "And this is just for one day of the year..."

"More than one day, my friend!" North boomed, clapping Jack on the back as he landed next to him, avoiding a yeti carrying a mountain of Barbie dolls. "Christmas is about cheer, and hope and wonder! Twelve days, if you like! It is the Christmas season!"

"You have to deliver these all in one night?" Jack asked. He and the rest of the Guardians had helped the Tooth Fairy collect teeth eight months ago, but there had been five of them, and not every child had lost a tooth. "That'd suck."

"Only when a freak blizzard appears and spooks the reindeer," North told him, frowning.

Jack shrugged. "Blizzards have a tendency to do that."

"So does a particular Guardian..." North muttered, but under his beard he was smiling. He turned to the giant globe that was rotating slowly. "Have you ever seen the lights this bright? Not even on Easter! Only at Christmas time."

Jack floated up and surveyed the globe, pausing over the spot on the north east of the United States as he always did, looking at the few lights that represented the children that actually believed in _him_. Suddenly the lights started blinking manically and fading in that area.

"North!" Jack called alarmed. "The lights are blinking!"

"They sometimes do that," North said dismissively, examining a collection of toy cars that a yeti was attaching the wheels to.

"No- no, I mean they're going _out_!"

North strode over and pulled a lever on the board in front of him. Immediately the globe spun so the part Jack was pointing to was facing him. Jack gave a startled yell as a wreath of holly whipped along with the globe and caught him in the stomach, sending him to the ground when it stopped. North didn't even seem to have noticed.

"What is happening?" he whispered.

"You don't know what it is? Could it be Pitch? Could-" Jack froze in the middle of getting up. "Jamie!"

He flew into the air, clutching his staff.

"Jack, no!" called North. "It's probably not even Pitch, and if it is, it's too dangerous!"

"Nonsense, I'll have Jamie. If it is Pitch, he'll be the first person he'll terrify!"

"Jack..." North attempted in a resigned voice, but Jack had already flown out the hole in the roof, leaving but a few snowflakes in his wake.

**I've actually finished this story (on ) but when I post here depends on the reviews.**


	3. Chapter 2- You Talk Too Much

"You talk too much, you know," Darkness told Pitch as they stood outside an expensive looking house.

"What?" He snapped, prising his gaze away from the inside of the, where a family was huddled in the lounge room, the three kids shaking with cold. Dark realised that by taking out the power, she had taken away their heating, and slowly the chill of the snowy winter would be setting in.

"I heard you, through the darkness you were using. You were talking to Jack Frost. Always about how _your _darkness and his cold went perfectly together-"

"You know, I'm starting to regret making an alliance with you when all you do is talk enviously about how I'm stealing all your power..." Pitch's eyes glinted again and she scowled.

"I'm not jealous of you."

He raised an eyebrow sardonically. "Aren't you? That's what I know about people, Dark. I know their fears, and you fear losing who you are. You're afraid that no one will ever believe in you, that you wont get a character in history, there wont be any stories of Darkness, only of the Bogeyman and _his d_arkness."

Darkness scowled but said nothing, knowing that he was telling the truth. Instead she took it out on the family within the house, sending out waves of spiders formed out of darkness through the window. The children spotted them first and shrieked, running into their parents arms, wailing and pointing. The parents could not see the darkness crawling along their carpet, and instead cuddled the kids, telling them they were imagining things.

Dark shot a smile and Pitch, and they left the house, spinning through the town leaving fear and gloom in their wake. On one occasion, Pitch touched a beautiful golden dream about dolphins that were chattering over one child's head, turning them to fierce sharks that swam in jerky movements, making the little boy who was dreaming of them twist in his sleep.

"Aren't you a little afraid of the Sandman noticing what's happening?" Dark asked as she glided into the room of another child behind Pitch.

"It doesn't matter. By the time the Sandman's concerned about what we've been doing, it will be too late, we will already have-" He cut off, staring at the boy who lay curled in his blankets before them with a furious expression. "This is _him._"

"Him?"

Pitch circled the bed, his eyes narrowed in maleficence. Dark had though he had acted like he was looking for something when they had roamed from house to house, brining fear on the children within, the look on her face told her he had found it. "This is the child who ruined everything. The one who wouldn't stop believing. The little-"

"Step away from him Pitch!" Dark looked over to the window to see a tall boy with brilliant white hair and bare feet, climbing in, a long staff in his hands. "I've beaten you once, I can do it again."

"Frost." Pitch sneered, and Dark realised that Jack Frost hadn't noticed her, standing in a shadowy corner of the room.

"It's just you and me, Pitch, and you don't look too good. So why don't you leave this town alone and just go and crawl back under your bed. Don't make this a battle." Jack had raised his staff, pointing it at Pitch's face.

Pitch gave a loud laugh. "Oh but Jack, did you really think I came alone?"

Jack's eyes narrowed as Dark stepped out of the shadows, her hair floating out behind her in an invisible breeze. "Who are you?" he demanded.

"Jack?" The boy had sat up in his bed and was rubbing his eyes blearily. He looked around the room, but his eyes simply passed over Dark and Pitch, who stood frozen, Pitch's golden eyes looking shocked to find himself invisible once more. "Jack! What's going on?"

"Don't move, Jamie!" Jack told him, stepping towards the boy. "It's Pitch Black, he's here."

"I thought you killed him-"

"You can't kill fear!" Pitch interrupted, but Jamie continued talking, unable to hear him.

"Where is he? What's he doing?!"

"He's by the bottom of your bed, the corner closest to you. He's got his hand on the bed knob," Jack told Jamie, and Pitch immediately removed his hand from it. Jack turned back to Dark, who was edging her way forward. "Who are you? Are you helping Pitch?"

"So many questions..." She murmured and held out her hand to Jack, despite the fact there was a bed in the way. "You can call me Darkness, and yes, I suppose I am helping him."

"Why?"

Dark smiled. "Because I feel like it."

"I'm giving you both the chance to leave without a battle, go now, and leave this place alone." Jack turned to Pitch. "The Guardians will come after you, you know that."

Pitch gave a wry smile, his eyes flashing knowingly. "Oh, I think the Guardians will have their hands full soon enough."

"What do you me-"

Pitch flicked a tendril of black sand at Jack, and Jack froze it in mid air, shooting a jet of ice back at Pitch, who caught it in his hand. Realising that he was outnumbered, Jack lunged forward, grabbing Jamie, who was looking around in utter confusion, unseeing of Pitch and Dark. Together they flew out of the room on a swift breeze, Jack glancing back and his eyes locking on Dark before zooming off into the night.

Pitch stared after Jack, and when he turned to Dark, he had a glint in his eyes that told her exactly who the Guardian she would be distracting would be.


End file.
